Managing Water on China's Farms: Institutions, Policies and the Transformation of Irrigation under Scarcity is a comprehensive and current look at the water shortage problems in China. While China has emerged as a major player in the world economy, water is the most critical factor that limits the country’s further growth. China’s growing water problems also have a large impact worldwide, with public health as well as economic impacts. If China were to rely heavily on food produced outside of China, the massive volume of food imports would raise food prices internationally. This book examines a series of water issues, beginning with a description of the water shortage problems in China, particularly in the northern part of the country. It then looks at the government and farmers' responses and whether past policies have been effective in resolving the water problems. Managing Water on China’s Farms documents the change of existing and new water management institutional forms over time and across provinces throughout northern China, and then assesses the impacts of these changes in the rural sector. Finally, it examines potential solutions that the research has uncovered, answering the question: Who can build the bridge over China’s troubled waters? Using analyses from information collected firsthand in China’s rural villages, the series of surveys covers diverse geographic regions that are representative of north China and includes perspectives from multiple stakeholders such as village leaders, water managers, and farmers. The policy-oriented research and rich analysis in this book make it of interest to both policy makers and researchers with a focus on China water problems. This book can also be used in a Master or Ph.D. level resource economics course. Uses case studies including problem, factors, proposed solutions, and pros and cons of each to facilitate translational learning and application Uses analyses of firsthand data collected from sources of irrigation water, irrigation systems, and water users Covers governance and operation and maintenance (O and M) practices Provides an informative, quantitative, and rigorous analysis of survey results Provides practical and valuable data, including the detailed micro-level data that enables estimating strategies

The report examines the relationships between agricultural policies in the North China Plain, the approaches to water management that evolved from them, the quantity of water that was actually used, and the consequent groundwater depletion beneath Luancheng County, Hebei Province, from 1949 to 2000. To systematically address these relationships, we use a comprehensive water-balance approach. Our results indicate that a single, longstanding policy-that of using groundwater to meet the crop-water requirements not supplied by precipitation-is responsible for the steady rate of groundwater decline.

Richtlijnen voor de werker in het veld om problemen te ondervangen ten aanzien van de waterkwaliteit voor irrigatie-doeleinden. Tenslotte worden praktijkervaringen uit diverse gebieden vermeld

This book explores water resources management issues in China and possible solutions. It analyzes a wide range of general and specific topics, providing case studies and a balanced review of the past and present situation as well as future developments. The book begins with a general introduction and an overview of hydrology, water resources, and development issues in China. It then presents a management framework, including a management system, management institutions, river basin management, water pricing, water rights, and groundwater management, and discusses its implementation, covering water resources allocation and regulation in the Yellow River, integrated water affair management reforms, and agricultural water management in northern China. The last section focuses on the current reforms and hot topics, with strong emphasis on stringent water resource strategies applied to the river and lake principle system, recycled water use and water resources asset management, as well as climate change impacts, and concludes with a summary of the many changes in the water sector in China and a look at the road ahead and the areas that still need to be reformed.

The chapters in this book summarise the results of a collaborative project between Chinese and Australian scientists to improve agricultural water use efficiency (WUE) and thereby increase agricultural productivity and sustainability in China and Australia.